Ever wonder what to do and where to go if you have a long layover at Denver International Airport? Let me share our experience when my wife and I had a 9 hours layover in Denver. We also going to give the list of the places we visited.
We went on a cruise and had a flight from San Diego, California to Tampa, Florida. We found a cheaper flight but had a long layover at Denver International Airport. We arrived at Denver about 1 o’clock in the afternoon and our flight to Tampa is at 10 pm. We felt that we had a lot of time to go outside the airport and visit the city.
When we arrived at the airport we asked the guy in the information kiosk about how to go to downtown. He told us that we have to ride a train going there and the station is just right at the Airport.
The train station is just a few minutes walk from the departure gates of the airport. From the train station you can see the booth to buy tickets and we bought our day pass for only $9 per person. This includes the train and the bus ride in downtown Denver.
More information about transportation from Airport to Downtown Denver
https://www.denver.org/about-denver/transportation/airport-info/
The train arrives every fifteen minutes and our travel time from Airport to Denver Union Station is about 40 minutes. We leave at Airport Station about 1:50 pm and arrive at Denver Union Station about 2:35 pm.
Denver Union Station
Denver Union Station is the last station of the train coming from the Airport. It is located right in the heart of Downtown, Denver in LoDo neighborhood. LoDo is a neighborhood in Denver, Colorado, and is one of the oldest settlements in the city. It is a mixed-use historic district, known for its nightlife, and serves as an example of success in urban reinvestment and revitalization. (Wikipedia)
You can find bars and restaurants inside the Union Station like Snooze, Mechantile Dining, Ultreia, Cooper Lounge and many more around the food court area. And they even have a hotel inside called the Crawford Hotel.
16Th Street Mall
You don’t want to miss this street if you’re visiting downtown Denver. Here you can find lots of restaurants, gift shops, and bars. It’s a 1.2-mile long from Union Station to Civic Center Station. We walked along 16th Street from Union Station all the way to City Capitol because we have a lot of time.
Another option is to ride a shuttle that goes along 16th street. Just make sure take Mall Ride Bus and this is free. You can check more information about the 16th Street Mall by visiting their website.
Here are some of our pictures while walking along 16th Street Mall.
While walking, we saw the ClockTower Cabaret and right beside it there was an Ice Skating rink. I believe this area was their center that held different events depending on the season.
In 16th Street Mall, you can find different restaurants like Cheesecake Factory, P.F Changs, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Chili’s and more but we decide to skip them all because we want to see more around downtown.
That’s why we just stopped by at Krispy Kreme and grabs some doughnuts to eat. And there’s a Starbucks Coffee right beside it if you prefer that instead.
After a quick bite, we continued walking until we reached Civic Center Station where the last stop of the Mall Ride Bus. Across the street, we saw the Civic Center Park where you can find the Colorado State Capitol, Voorhies Memorial, McNichols Civic Center Building, and the Denver City Council Building.
We just walk around the park and took a bunch of pictures and then head back to Civic Center Station where we planned to ride back to Union Station.
Here is a shot of 16th Street Mall at night, this is while we’re waiting for the bus going back to Union Station. If we could have more time, we should try one of the bars and restaurants in here especially at night but it was about 6 pm and we decided to eat dinner at the Airport.
It was about 6:30 pm when we arrived at Denver Union Station. While waiting for the train to arrive, we took a picture of Union Station for the last time.
We leave the Union Station about 6:45 pm and arrived at the Airport at 7:30 pm. The train ride was very smooth and there is not a lot of people in the train.
Our flight to Tampa, Florida is at 10 o’clock at night and we still have a lot of time to spare that’s why we decided to eat and have some dinner in one of their restaurants inside the Airport before our flight.
I would recommend that when you have a long layover for at least 6 hours or more at Denver International Airport, you should try going out and visit the Union Station and walked along the 16th Street Mall. I know there is a lot of things to do and to see in Denver but our experience is a must try because with a little bit of time, we saw a lot. We would definitely come back here in Denver and stayed a little bit longer to explore the city and go out in the mountains of Colorado.
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Cameras that we used
https://amzn.to/2IDykM4
https://amzn.to/2EvnyoB
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